International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 6, June 2013

ISSN 2250-3153

Magnetohydrodynamic Power Generation

Ajith Krishnan R*, Jinshah B S**
*Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government Engineering College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India
**Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government Engineering College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India

Abstract- Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation

process is basically based on the physics background of space
plasma. The basic principle is the Faradays Law of
electromagnetic induction. In this device plasma (Ionized gas) is
the working fluid similar to the mechanism that happening in the
magnetosphere of our earths atmosphere. Except here the
process is controlled and we increase the fluid density and
pressure to get maximum efficiency in the generating power.
Most problems come from the low conductivity feature in the gas
at high temperature. High temperature gaseous conductor at high
velocity is passed through a powerful magnetic field and a
current is generated and extracted by placing electrodes at
suitable position in the gas stream, and hence the thermal energy
of gas is directly converted in to electrical energy. In this paper
the process involved in MHD power generation will be discussed
in detail along with the simplified analysis of MDH system and
recent developments in magnetohydrodynamics and their related
issues.
Index Terms- Electromagnetic induction, Hall
Magneto hydrodynamics, MHD generator, Plasma

Effect,

I. INTRODUCTION

e all are aware of power generation using hydel,thermal

and nuclear resources.In all the systems,the potential
energy or thermal energy is first converted in to mechanical
energy and then the mechanical energy is converted in to
elecrtrical energy. The conversion of potential energy in to
mechanical energy is considerably high (70 to 80%) but
conversion of thermal energy in to mechanical energy is
considerably poor(40 to 45%).In addition to this the mechanical
components required for converting heat energy in to mechanical
energy are large in number and considerably costly.This requires
huge capital cost as well as maintenance cost also.
The scientists are thinking to eliminate the mechanical system
and convert thermal in to direct electrical energy for the last 50years and more.Unfortunately, no system is yet developed in
large capacity(MW) to compete with conventional systems.In
addition to this the efficiency of such conversion remained
considerably poor(less than10%)therefore,these power generating
systems are not developed on large scale.

I.I Thermodynamic energy conversion

The electricity generation process, most often, is characterised by
the transition of primary or secondary energy, from thermal to
mechanical and then to electricity. At the current state of
development, most of the power plants are based on processes
known as conventional. The production of electricity, through
conventional forms or commercial of primary energy, concern
only the hydroelectric and thermal power station, where the
thermal power stations are different for use of primary source
(usually fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil, coal, etc., wood and
biomass, municipal or industrial solid wast, etc., or nuclear fuels
and more rarely geothermal energy). In the hydroelectric power
generation, mechanical energy, in different forms (kinetic,
potential and pressure) from flowing fluid, is converted into
electricity with a water turbine and an alternator. In the thermal
power plants the thermal energy is converted into mechanical
energy and from this machine the mechanical energy into
electricity. The majority of thermal power plants are powered by
fuels, usually fossil or nuclear. Apart some cases, such as power
plants that use thermal energy available in nature (primarily solar
and geothermal), the form of energy at the base of each of
processes is the chemical potential energy of the fuel.
The potential energy of the fossil fuel is converted into heat
energy through a chemical exothermic reaction (combustion),
characterized by generation of thermal energy equivalent, in
absolute value, to the enthalpy variation for the same reaction. In
the case of nuclear fuels there is a fission reaction. The heat is
then transmitted to elastic working fluid evolving in appropriate
machines (usually gas turbine or reciprocating engine) producing
mechanical work. In that case, it has converted thermal energy to
mechanical (thermodynamics conversion). The mechanical work
produced is finally transferred to an electric generator, which
operates the last conversion of energy in electric form. It should
be noted that in any conversion process one can not fully convert
the energy from one form to another, each of the steps being
characterized by a conversion efficiency, a coefficient that takes
into account the fraction of the energy initially available, which is
converted in the desired form.[1]

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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 6, June 2013
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I.II Direct energy conversion systems

The possibilities of improving significantly the conventional
energy conversion processes are mainly related to technological
progress. They still have small margins and for this reason the
researchers have turned to the development of other systems, socalled no-conventional. In the conventional conversion systems a
significant loss of energy occurs in the transition from thermal to
mechanical energy (thermodynamic conversion). Research is
focusing its efforts on conversion processes that do not use this
step. The absence of moving mechanical parts may allow the
achievement of operating temperatures much higher than those
typical of conventional processes, resulting therefore, at least
potentially, a higher conversion efficiency. These processes are
known as direct conversion, as primary and secondary energy is
converted directly into electricity without the need to pass
through a stage of mechanical energy [2]. The direct energy
conversion methods that nowadays are taken into account in
terms of industrial application are:

Photovoltaic generation systems (Photovoltaic Solar

Cells)[3]

Electrochemical energy conversion (Fuel Cells) [4]

Magnetohydrodynamic generation(MHD)[5]

Electrogasdynamic generation(EGD)[6]

Thermoeletric power generation [7]

In the first two processes the conversion fromthe primary to

the secondary energy form takes place avoiding the conversion in
the intermediate thermal energy. The Figure 1 shows the energy
conversion stages in the direct generation of electric energy.

The design of an energy converter is often dictated by the

type of energy to be converted, although it is the duty of the
engineer to seek out new and more efficient ways of transforming
the primary sources of the energy into electricity. There are many
reasons for the use of new and direct conversion schemes. These
can be grouped into three important areas: efficiency, reliability,
and the use of new sources of energy. It is hoped that when a
processes occurs directly, rather than passing through several
steps, it is likely to be more efficient. This will lead to less
expenditure of the primary energy reserve and a lower investment
per installed unit power. Efficiencies are, however, still low at
this stage of development of most direct energy conversion
schemes. As for reliability, there are places where energy
conversion equipment must run for years without breaking down
and without maintenance. These are situation where the ultimate
reliability is required. Finally, the possibility of using new
sources of energy seems enhanced by the development of the
new direct energy converters.
There are many ways whereby the direct energy conversion
of thermal to electrical energy can be obtained. In the following
section the main one, magnetohydrodynamic power generation ,
is mentioned very briefly to give an overall background picture
of the interest in direct conversion
II. MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC POWER GENERATION
The magnetohydrodynamic power generator[8] is a device that
generates electric power by means of the interaction of a moving
fluid (usually a ionized gas or plasma) and a magnetic field. As
all direct conversion processes the MHD generators can also
convert thermal energy directly into electricity without moving
parts. In this way the static energy converters, with no moving
mechanical part, can improve the dynamic conversion, working
at temperature more higher than conventional processes. The
typical configuration of MHD generator is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: MHD channel

Figure 1: Direct energy conversion stages

The underlying principle of MHD power generation is

elegantly simple. Typically, an electrically conducting gas is
produced at high pressure by combustion of a fossil fuel. The gas
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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 6, June 2013
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is then directed through a magnetic field, resulting due to the Hall

effect. The MHD system constitutes a heat engine, involving an
expansion of the gas from high to low pressure in a manner
similar to that employed in a conventional gas turbogenerator. In
the turbogenerator, the gas interacts with blade surfaces to drive
the turbine and the attached electric generator. In the MHD
system, the kinetic energy of the gas is converted directly to
electric energy as it is allowed to expand.
It is known, that if we have a current flowing in a conductor
immersed in a magnetic field, in the same conductor will be
generated a Lorentz force that is perpendicular to the direction of
the magnetic field and to the current.
The induced emf(E) is given by

Ei= u . B

where u is the velocity of ionized gas and B is the strength

of magnetic field intensity.
the induced current density is given by

Ii =. E

where is the electrical conductivity of gas.

The retarding force on the conductor is the Lorentz force
given by

Fi= I . B

In an MHD converter the electrical conductor is replaced by a

plasma current at high speed and with high temperature to be
partially ionized . So, the current flow is not only made of
electrically neutral molecules but also with a mix of positive ions
and electrons. When an high velocity gas flows into convergentdivergent duct and passes through the magnetic field an e.m.f is
induced, mutual perpendicular to the magnetic field direction and
to the direction of the gas flow. Electrodes in opposite side walls
of the MHD flow channel provide an interface to an external
circuit. Electrons pass from the fluid at one wall to an electrode,
to an external load, to the electrode on the opposite wall, and then
back to the fluid, completing a circuit. Thus the MHD channel
flow is a direct current source that can be applied directly to an
external load or can be linked with a power conditioning
converter to produce alternating current. The electric energy
produced is proportional to the reduction of kinetic energy and
enthalpy of the fluid current. MHD effects can be produced with
electrons in metallic liquids such as mercury and sodium or in hot
gases containing ions and free electrons. In both cases, the
electrons are highly mobile and move readily among the atoms
and ions while local net charge neutrality is maintained. Any
small volume of the fluid contains the same total positive charges
in the ions and negative charges, because any charge imbalance
would produce large electrostatic forces to restore the balance.

Most theoretical and experimental work and power plant

development and application studies have focussed on hightemperature ionized gas as the working fluid. Unfortunately,
most common gases do not ionize significantly at temperatures
obtainable with fossil fuel chemical reactions. This makes it
necessary to seed the hot gasses with small amounts of ionizable
materials such as alkali metals. Materials such as cesium and
potassium have ionization potentials low enough that they ionize
at temperatures obtainable with combustion reaction in air.
Recovery and reuse of seed materials from the MHD channel
exhaust are usually considered necessary from both economic
and pollution standpoints.
Interest in MHD power generation was originally stimulated
by the observation that the interaction of a plasma with a
magnetic field could occur at much higher temperatures than
were possible in a rotating mechanical turbine. The limiting
performance from the point of view of efficiency of a heat engine
is limited by the Carnot cycle. A system employing an MHD
generator offers the potential of an ultimate efficiency in the
range of 60 to 65%. This is much better than the 35 to 40%
efficiency that can be achieved in a modern conventional thermal
power station.
The power output of an MHD generator for each cubic metre
of its channel volume is proportional to the product of the gas
conductivity, the square of the gas velocity, and the square of the
strength of the magnetic field through which the gas passes. For
MHD generators to operate competitively with good performance
and reasonable physical dimensions, the electrical conductivity of
the plasma must be in a temperature range above about 1800K.
Apart of the MHD power generator, other apparatus are
necessary to form the overall MHD system. It is necessary to
burn the fuel and the oxidizer, to add the seed, and to make
arrangements for exporting the generated electrical power. The
fuel is usually fossil and the oxidizer is air, for obvious economic
reasons. For large systems, some precautions should be taken to
limit the amount of losses. The air may be enriched with more
oxygen, and preheating of the incoming oxidizer becomes
necessary to allow thermal ionization. In practice a number of
issues must be considered in the implementation of a MHD
generator: Generator efficiency, Economics, and Toxic products.
These issues are affected by the choice of one of the three MHD
generator designs. These are the Faraday generator, the Hall
generator, and the disk generator
II.I Faraday generator
A simple Faraday generator would consist of a wedge-shaped
pipe or tube of some non-conductive material. When an
electrically conductive fluid flows through the tube, in the
presence of a significant perpendicularmagnetic field, a charge is
induced in the field, which can be drawn off as electrical power
by placing the electrodes on the sides at 90 degree angles to the
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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 6, June 2013
ISSN 2250-3153

Figure 3: Faradys generator

magnetic field. The main practical problem of a Faraday
generator is that differential voltages and currents in the fluid
short through the electrodes on the sides of the duct. The most
powerful waste is from the Hall effect current.
II.II Hall generator
The most common answer is to overcome the problems
of faradys generator is the Hall effect to create a current that
flows with the fluid. The normal scheme is to place arrays of
short, vertical electrodes on the sides of the duct. The first and
last electrodes in the duct supply the load. Each other electrode is
shorted to an electrode on the opposite side of the duct. Losses
are less than that of a Faraday generator, and voltages are higher
because there is less shorting of the final induced current.
However, this design has problems because the speed of the
material flow requires the middle electrodes to be offset to catch
the Faraday currents. As the load varies, the fluid flow speed
varies, misaligning the Faraday current with its intended
electrodes, and making the generator efficiency very sensitive to
its load.

Faraday currents flow in a perfect dead short around the

periphery of the disk. The Hall effect currents flow between ring
electrodes near the center and ring electrodes near the periphery.
Another significant advantage of this design is that the magnet is
more efficient. First, it has simple parallel field lines. Second,
because the fluid is processed in a disk, the magnet can be closer
to the fluid, and magnetic field strengths increase as the 7th
power of distance. Finally, the generator is compact for its power,
so the magnet is also smaller. The resulting magnet uses a much
smaller percentage of the generated power.
III. POWERCYCLE FOR MHD-GENERATOR
MHD generator replaced the gas turbine used in conventional
cycle is shown in Figure 5. A compressor is used to elevate the
pressure and then heat is added to increase the gas temperature
which is sufficient to ionize the gas.Then the gas flow is
accelerated by passsing through the nozzle before entering MHD
generator.The gas passing through the MHD generator is
deaccelerated and electrical energy is generated
It is obvious that the MHD-cycle is thermal power cycle and
the thermal efficiency is given by

Workoutput (h3h4)(h2h1)
= Heatinput =
(h3h2)
where indicated enthalpies are stagnation values which takes
into account the K.E of the flowing gas The stagnation enthalpy
of the followin gas is given by

u2
ho=h+ 2
where u is the velocity of the flowing gas.
In actual MHD-generator, the gas velocity is sufficiently high
(sonic and ebove) so that the K.E of the flowing gas represents
substantial portion of the total enegy.

Figure 4: Disk generator

II.III Disk generator
The third, currently most efficient answer is the Hall effect
disk generator. This design currently holds the efficiency and
energy density records for MHD generation. A disk generator has
fluid flowing between the center of a disk, and a duct wrapped
around the edge. The magnetic excitation field is made by a pair
of circular Helmholtz coils above and below the disk. The

Figure 5: Power cycle for MHD power generation

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III.I Simplified analysis of MHD Generator

The following assumptions are made in the analysis of the MHD
generator.

V =Open circuit voltage(volts)

o

For open circuit voltage E becomes zero

zt

1. working gas is an ideal gas

Vo=u.B.

2. gas flowing at constant velocity and pressure

If R is internal resistance and R is the load resistance and I
3. magnetic flux generated remains constant

is the flowing current,then

4. no heat transfer to the surroundings

vo
I= R +R
g
L

5. gas flow is uniform

When the high velocity ionized gas flows through the
magnetic field,the induced EMF tries to slow down the motion of
the gas as it acts in the opposite direcion.The duct is made
diverging as the gas velocity decreases along the flow
direction.The elecrical energy is extracted from the thermal
energy of the gases keeping axial velocity constant.The electrical
energy is produced when the condutive gas cuts the magnetic
lines of force.The gas is accelerated to restore its velocity with
decrease of temperature and axial velocity held constant,large
power is developed if the applied magnetic flux density and gas
velocity are high.The lorentz force induced on electrons acts in
the direction of retarding the gas flow.The direction of Lorentz
force is opposite to the velocity of conducting gas. The induced
emf generated is given by

W(power output from MHD generator)

VoI=I2Rg =(

vo (u.B.)2
Rg=RL Wmax= 4R = 4R
g
g
but R =
g

where is gas conductivity(mho/m) and A is

.A
2

electrode surface area(m )

u2.B2.2
Wmax= 4. *.A

Ei= u . B

The elecromagnetic force acting on the gas particle in the

presence of electric field E is given by

The force F acts on the particle at right angles to both

magnetic field and gas velocity.Gas particles flow in the direction
of the electric field . Current intensity between the electrode
connected externally in perpendicular direction is given by,

V
Ez=
where is the distance between the electrodes.
Total electric fieldE is given by

u2.B2.
= 4 (A.)
where(A.) becomes the volume of MHD generator.
'

Wmax=

u2.B2. 3
4 /m ofMHDgenerator
'

This shows that Wmax is proportional to the square of

magnetic flux ,therefore it needs strong magnetic field to make
the generator compact.
Conversion efficiency of MHD ( ),
c

V
=

zt

max

u.B

V (u.B.)V
Ezt=Ei+Ez =u.B =

V
2

=u.B.I

E=Electric field(volts/m)

V
I

max

max .A

max

B=Magnetic field(w/m )
u=Gas velocity(w/m)

)2.Rg
Rg+RL

The condition for maximum power,

F=Q(E+Ei)=Q[E+u.B]

vo

R +R
g

=
L

UB u.B.A.
=
2R
2
g

=Distance between the electrode(m)

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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 6, June 2013
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2
c= 2= 1 2

[uB(
c=

uBA
2 )]*(/2)
uB

IV. MHD PHENOMENA DESCRIPTION

IV.II Dimensionless parameters

Fluid mechanics equations typically are cast in dimensionless
form so that the relative strengths of the different terms can be
inferred by the size of any multiplying factors. The equation of
motion can be written in dimensionless form by making the
substitutions:
j
*
j=
u B
o o

IV.I MHD Equations

The complete set of magnetohydrodynamic equations for a
Newtonian, constant property fluid flow includes, the NavierStokes equations of motion (i.e., momentum equation), the
equation of mass continuity, Maxwells equations, and Ohms
Law . In differential form they constitute the following system of
equations:
(

u
2
+(u.)u)=p+jxB+ u+g
t
f

Navier-Stokes equations of motion

p =
* 1
=
a

u Boa
o
*

u =

u
u

B =

B
B

where a, u and B are characteristic values of length, velocity

o

and applied magnetic field. Characteristic values of the current

density and pressure have been selected carefully in order to
scale the phenomena of interest; different values could have been
selected, leading to different systems of non-dimensionalization.
Using this system, the equation of motion (excluding gravity)
becomes,

(i.e., momentum equation) where MHD body force is

( j* B) and j=(E+uB)

+.u=0 .... equation of mass continuity

t

E=

B
.... Maxwells equations
t

1 u* *
1 2 *
*
* *
*
N( t +(u .)u )=p +j *B + Ha2 u
The characteristic parameters Re, Ha and N are the Reynolds
number, the Hartmann number, which is an average measure of
the ratio of magnetic to viscous forces, and the interaction
parameter, which is a measure of the ratio of magnetic to inertial
forces. They are defined as:

*B= j ....Ohms Law

u a

Re=

Ha=aB

=fluiddensity
u=fluidvelocity

N=

Ha
2
=aBo. /u
Re
f
o

=magneticpermeability
m

=fluiddynamicviscosity
f

B=magneticfieldintensity
E=electircfield
=electricalconductivity

When the Hartmann number and interaction parameter are

both sufficiently large, the momentum equation throughout the
bulk of the fluid can be reduced to the simple form:
p=j*B
Table 1 gives representative values of these characteristic
dimensionless parameters for example cases of interest.

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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 6, June 2013
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Parameter

Re
Ha
N
Re

NaK

Hg

Electrolyte Air (3000degC)

(20degC)
(100degC) (20degC) 15% KOH
with 2% K
5
5
4
350
1.6x10
9.1x10
4.3x10
6800
2700
17.5
98

290
8.2
27
7x10 3
0.30

0.14

1.2x10

(the bottoming phase). An MHD power plant employing such an

arrangement is known as an opencycle , or once-through, system.

1.3x10

Table 1: Typical values of Re, Ha, N, and Rem for several

materials (assuming a=0.1 m, B=1 T, v=1 m/s)
The dimensionless product , often called the Hall parameter,
is an important characteristic number in MHD design. The
conductivity tensor is anisotropic due to the Hall component
unless 1 On a microscopic scale, the Hall parameter
indicates the average angular travel of electrons between
collisions.Since the mean free path is inversely proportional to
pressure, lower pressure and higher values of B give larger values
of .[11]
V. DIFFERENT MHD SYSTEMS
As of 1994, the 22%efficiency record for closed-cycle disk
MHD generators was held by Tokyo Technical Institute. Typical
open-cycle Hall duct coa lMHD generators are lower, near 17%.
These efficiencies make MHD unattractive, by itself, for utility
power generation, since conventional Rankine cycle power plants
easily reach 40%.
However, the exhaust of an MHD generator burning fossil
fuel is almost as hot as the flame of a conventional steam boiler.
By routing its exhaust gases into a boiler to make steam,MHD
and a steam Rankine cycle can convert fossil fuels into electricity
with an estimated efficiency up to 60 percent, compared to the 40
percent of a typical coal plant. Repowering of existing thermal
power plants is possible with a significant increase of the
efficiency of the plant. Efficiencies greater than 65-70% can be
reached if a triple cycle, including an MHD generator, a gas
turbine and a steam turbine, is utilized. The abundance of coal
reserves throughout much of the world has favoured the
development of coal-fired MHD systems for electric power
production. Coal can be burned at a temperature high enough to
provide thermal ionization. However, as the gas expands along
the duct or channel, its electrical conductivity drops along with
its temperature. Thus, power production with thermal ionization
is essentially finished when the temperature falls to about 2500
K. To be economically competitive, a coal-fired power station
would have to combine an MHD generator with a conventional
steam plant in what is termed a binary cycle. The hot gas is first
passed through the MHD generator (a process known as topping)
and then onto the turbogenerator of a conventional steam plant

Figure 6: The typical open cycle scheme for a coal-firedMHD

systems[9]
The Figure 6 shows the typical open cycle scheme for a coalfired MHD systems for electric power production Coal
combustion as a source of heat has several advantages[9]. For
example,
it
results
in
coal
slag,
which
under
magnetohydrodynamic conditions is molten and provides a layer
that covers all of the insulator and electrode walls The electrical
conductivity of this layer is sufficient to provide conduction
between the gas and the electrode structure but not so high as to
cause significant leakage of electric currents and consequent
power loss. The reduction in thermal losses to the walls because
of the slag layer more than compensates for any electrical losses
arising from its presence. However, the dust could degrade the
MHD generator elements. In fact, an important item in the
development of the MHD generator is the development of a
durable electrode. The development of suitable materials for use
in MHD generator is one of the most challenging areas. The very
high temperatures (2700 K) coupled with the highly corrosive
seed-laden atmosphere limit the choice of materials in contact
with the plasma. These materials in contact with the high
temperature plasmas in MHD generator are simultaneously
subjected to stresses of mechanical, thermal, chemical and
electromagnetic nature. The use of a seed material in conjunction
with coal offers environmental benefits. In particular, the
recombination chemistry that occurs in the duct of a MHD
generator favours the formation of potassium sulphate in the
combustion of high-sulfur coals, there by reducing sulphur
dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. The need to recover seed
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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 6, June 2013
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material also ensures that a high level of particulate removal is

built into an MHD coal-fired plant. Finally, by careful design of
the boiler and the combustion controls, low levels of nitrogen
oxide emissions can be achieved. The problems due to the direct
combustion of coal can be overcome combining the MHD
generator on the Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle
(IGCC), it is a technology that turns coal into gas synthesis gas
(syngas). All the treatments on the gas are performed before the
combustion, so that the electrostatic precipitator is no longer
necessary. On the other hand, eliminating the most part of the
sulphur before the Claus/Scot process is a great advantage, in
particular in the cases of coal with a high percentage of sulphur.
In addition to natural gas as a fuel source, more MHD power
generation systems have been proposed.
A magnetohydrodynamic generator might be heated by a
Nuclear reactor (either fission or fusion). Reactors of this type
operate at temperatures as high as 20000C. By pumping the
reactor coolant into a magnetohydrodynamic generator before a
traditional heat exchanger an estimated efficiency of 60% can be
realised. The Figure 7 shown the typical close-cycle system for
nuclear source[10].
In theory, solar concentrators can provide thermal energy at a
temperature high enough to provide thermal ionization. Thus,
solar-based MHD systems have potential, provided that solar
collectors can be developed that operate reliably for extended
periods at high temperatures. MHD generators have not been
employed for large scale mass energy conversion because other
techniques with comparable efficiency have a lower lifecycle
investment cost. Advances in natural gas turbines achieved
similar thermal efficiencies at lower costs by having the turbines

temperature steam generating capacity. Presently, the most often

considered use if MHD generator is as a topping device for
conventional steam plants. The fact there are no moving
mechanical parts will make operation at high temperature
feasible. The upper limit temperature in a steam plant is about
7500C, which is far below the temperatures reached by MHD
generators (about 27000C). To obtain good conducting gases, it is
necessary to add cesium or potassium as seed materials and to
solve the problem of corrosion. Advances in refractory material
are needed. The cost of seeding increases substantially the cost of
installed power. The cost of wall material is an important part of
the total cost of an MHD generator. Good insulating and
refractory materials working for a reasonably long time without
deterioration should be found. The problem of high temperatures
could be alleviated by the use of some type of non thermal
ionization. This can also make the possibility of a nuclear reactor
MHD generator coupling feasible, with the advantage of having
an entirely static power plant. From the tremendous amount of
work done in this field, both theoretically and experimentally, it
seems that a fossil fueled MHD topper is the most promising
MHD generator and most probably will be the first to be
operating to on the industrial level. Many problems need to be
solved before an MHD power plant becomes competitive: seed
recovery, superconductivity for the magnet, high temperature
materials, AC power generation, and progress in non equilibrium
ionization techniques.
VI. NEAR FUTURE POWER GENERATION SYSTEM
VI.I Energy Re-Circulating LNG/MHD System
Figure 8 shows proposed energy re-circulating type
MHD power generation system with LNG heat source which has
been proposed by Prof. Y. Okuno at Tokyo Institute of
Technology. The system does not combined with any other
system and is called closed cycle MHD single system. We can
see that plant efficiency is expected over 60% even the enthalpy
extraction ratio of the MHD generator is only 30%. Thermal
input to the MHD generator is 200% and electric output is 60%
in spite of only 100% input thermal energy to the system because
100 of heat is recovered by regenerator. Enthalpy extraction ratio
of above 30 achieved by experiments with shock tube facility. So
this estimation of efficiency is considered to be realistic in near
future[12].
VI.II Energy Re-Circulating Nuclear/Gas Turbine System

Figure 7: The typical close cycle scheme for nuclear source[10]

exhaust drive a Rankine cycle steam plant. To get more
electricity from coal, it is cheaper to simply add more low-

It is pointed out that efficiency of power generation

system with nuclear fission reactor must be increased in order to
reduce CO2 emission. Energy re-circulating type gas-turbine
single system with nuclear reactor is proposed. Schematic of this
system is shown in Figure 9.
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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 6, June 2013
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Figure 8: Energy Re-circulating type MHD single system with

LNG as heat source.[12]

as to connect closed cycle MHD system directly to HTGR. We

exclude alkali-metal seed from the system. Mixed inert gas
(MIG) system has been studied to eliminate system complexity of
seed injection, mixing and recovery. Ionization potential of MIG
working medium is much higher than that of inert gas seeded
with alkali-metal, and therefore, ionization level, namely
electrical conductivity, is not enough at the temperature of the
reactor exit, 1800K. So, it must be pre-ionized electrically. Disk
shaped Hall-type MHD generator is used for simple geometry,
fewer electrode connections and simple structure of
superconducting magnet. Regenerator which is installed just
downstream of the MHD generator can regenerate heat exhausted
from the generator in order to minimize waste heat radiated from
the radiation cooler and to improve plant efficiency. Other
components are staged compressor with intercoolers and
radiation cooler[13].

Figure 9: Energy Re-circulating type gas-turbine single system

with nuclear reactor as heat source.
Here, working gas is re-circulating helium and high temperature
gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) is considered to be used in this
system. We can expect high plant efficiency about 47% in
contrast with 35% for the case of BWR/steam-turbine system.
This remarkable increase in efficiency results in saving by over
25% of nuclear fuel consumption. Main issue may be
development of increase operating temperature.
VI.III Energy Re-Circulating Nuclear/MHD System
Because, in previous nuclear/gas-turbine system, highest
working temperature is considered to be 8500C owing to
requirement from difficulty in developing HTGR, its efficiency is
relatively low. A system using MHD generator to achieve higher
efficiency is proposed as shown in Figure 10. This system is a
special power generation system driven by HTGR directly
connected with MHD single power generation system for space
applications. Typical gas dynamic parameters of heat, Q in MW,
temperature, T in K, and pressure, P in MPa are shown in this
figure. Working medium of helium mixed with xenon is used so

Figure 10: Energy Re-circulating type MHD single system with

nuclear reactor as heat source for space applications
Input power from the HTGR is fixed as 5MW. Thermal input
to the MHD generator is about 13MW which is the sum of input
thermal energy from HTGR of 5MW and recovered one from the
regenerator of about 8MW. Enthalpy extraction ratio, which is
the ratio of output electrical power to thermal input, is assumed
to be reasonable value of 35%. Generated electric power is
4.5MW and net output is 2.76generated power is used for
compressor power. Finally, total plant efficiency reached to 55 to
this system and 2.76MW net output electric power. Main reasons
of high efficiency are high operating temperature and thermal
energy recovery by regenerating heat exchanger. We have to note
that we can reduce fuel consumption and recognized that this
system will be an important candidate in near future.

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VII. CONCLUSION

Figure 11: CO2 Recovery type MHD generator plant.

VI.IV CO2 Recovery Type MHD Power System

To reduce CO2 emission is one of the urgent
requirements to reduce global climate change based on green
house effect. If we burn fossil fuel, CO2 must be exhausted.
Therefore, we have to develop two directions; 1) increase plant
efficiency which leads to reduce fuel consumption and 2)CO2
recovery type power generation system. We discuss how to
increase plant efficiency using MHD generator previously. We
would like to discuss how to design CO2 recovery type plant. At
first, if we burn fossil fuel with air, exhaust gas contains so much
N2 and we have to separate CO2 from N2 and H2O. This process
requires so much energy and again increases CO2 production. If
combustion exhaust contains only CO2 and H2O, it is easy to
separate CO2 from H2O. This can be achieved by burning fuels
with pure oxygen. Of course some amount of energy loss to
produce oxygen takes place. However, temperature of
combustion gas can be increased and if this increase in
temperature can be effectively used to increase of plant
efficiency, such penalty can be compensated. Basic ideas of CO2
recovery type MHD power generation system are as follows:
Heat source is coal synthesized gas burning with pure oxygen.
Coal must be considered as a heat source in near future with in
200 years instead of LNG or oil. Nitrogen free with oxygen
separate plant is included. Figure 11 shows typical CO2 recovery
type MHD generator plant proposed by Prof. N. Kayukawa at
Hokkaido University. In this system, H2 and CO is burned with
pure oxygen to drive MHD generator at the temperature around
28000C. Downstream part after MHD generator, heat is recovered
by regenerative coal gasification process, fuel pre-heating, and
steam decomposition. Energy penalty for oxygen production
plant can be recovered due to operate at high temperature with
high efficiency of the MHD generator. It is known that only
MHD generators can be operated such high temperature regime.
Total plant efficiency can be expected as over 50% with CO2
recovery.

In the conventional conversion systems a significant loss of

energy occurs in the transition from thermal to mechanical
energy (thermodynamic conversion). The performance from the
point of view of efficiency of a heat engine is limited by the
Carnot cycle. The Carnot efficiency is governed solely by the
extreme temperatures of the cycle. The low temperature of the
cycle is related to the temperature of the environment, the
maximum temperature is rather related to the mechanical
resistance of the material at high temperature. Nowadays, gas
turbines are the technologies that can work to the highest value of
temperature cycle, with values around 1500 K. These
technologies are usually used as a topper in a combined cycle gas
turbine (CCGT) plant. The Carnot efficiency for a thermal engine
that works on those temperatures is about 80%.
In the MHD generator the advantage of having no moving
parts allows to work at higher temperatures than a conventional
energy conversion. It is possible to work with temperature around
3000K, and a these temperature the maximum theoretical
efficiency would be near 90%. In the section of near future MHD
power generation system the plant efficiency can be increased by
increasing the working temperature, do not use condenser of
steam-turbine to reduce exhaust heat, and to construct energy recirculating type system.
Also, in order to reduce CO 2 emission, use nuclear power
with high efficiency. We have to construct nuclear powered
energy re-circulating type system. Also idea of CO2 recovery
type power generation system must be developed. Energy recirculating type Nuclear/MHD power system was proposed to
achieve high efficiency using high operating temperature and
eliminating bottoming cycle. For reduction of CO2 emission, CO2
recovery type generator system was proposed, which has special
features of using coal synthesized gas burning with pure oxygen
and heat recovery systems.
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AUTHORS
First Author Ajith Krishnan R, Post Graduate student in
Energy System Analysis and Design (Mechanical Engineering
Department), Government Engineering College, Kozhikode,
Kerala, India, E-Mail id- ajithjec@gmail.com
Second Author Jinshah B S, Post Graduate student in Energy
System Analysis and Design(Mechanical Engineering
Department), Government Engineering College, Kozhikode,
Kerala, India, E-mail id- jan2live@gmail.com

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